Why billionaires like to buy newspapers

Mr Bezos and the others may or may not love print. But the buying spree tells you two things: that history repeats itself and that the Indian print industry is phenomenally unprepared for a similar future. Take the first.

The Curse of the Mogul, a 2009-book, establishes that in the 10 years that ended in 2005, four of the largest media corporations -- News Corporation, Viacom, Disney and Time Warner -- delivered average returns of 2.5 per cent to shareholders compared to the S&P average of nine per cent for other American companies.

It’s not just newspapers; every part of the media business offers suspect returns.

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Image: A view of the lobby of The Washington Post Company headquarters in Washington.Photographs: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters